Along with the development of wired and wireless communication networks, electronic devices for outputting a screen and displaying data visually recognizable by a user on the screen may be mutually connected via the wired and wireless communication networks.
The electronic devices may transmit or receive various kinds of data via the wired and wireless communication networks, and one electronic device may control another electronic device remotely or use a third electronic device via another electronic device. A mirroring technique is necessary for the remote control or the sharing between electronic devices described above.
The mirroring technique is a technique capable of sharing and operating screen data between devices having a display unit. The mirroring technique allows Personal Computers (PCs) to share and use screen data.
In addition, the mirroring technique has been developed so as to be applied to all electronic devices capable of outputting a screen through a display unit, such as portable computers including laptop computers, netbooks, tablet PCs, and the like, portable terminals including smartphones and Portable Digital Assistants (PDAs), TVs, and the like. A mirroring service for allowing a plurality of electronic devices to share a screen and mutually perform a remote control by applying the mirroring technique thereto may be provided. Techniques for providing the mirroring service are, for example, Display as a Service (DaaS), Miracast, Airplay, and the like.
Hereinafter, all electronic devices capable of using the mirroring service by sharing and displaying a screen are referred to as “display devices”.
In the mirroring service, a certain image is transmitted from a device, which provides an image to a device which receives an image. The device, which provides an image, may be referred to as a source device or a master device, and the device, which receives an image, may be referred to as a sink device or a client device. Hereinafter, the device, which provides an image, is referred to as a master device, and the device, which receives an image, is referred to as a client device.
According to the currently developed mirroring service technology, in a one-to-one network topology in which one master device and one client device are connected to each other, when the mirroring service starts after a network connection between the two devices is completed, the entire control right is given to the client device. Since the number of client devices having a control right is one in the one-to-one network topology, a collision of the control right does not occur.
However, since many electronic devices capable of connecting to a network, such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablet PCs, and the like, have recently been released to the market, individual users usually have a plurality of electronic devices, and thus, a 1:n network topology in which a plurality of client devices are connected to one master device occurs frequently. However, since it is assumed that the currently developed mirroring service technology is only for the one-to-one network topology, there is no method of allocating a control right between client devices in the 1:n network topology.
As a result, when the currently developed mirroring service technology is used, since all of the n client devices have a control right in the 1:n network topology, control rights for controlling the master device may overlap each other, thereby resulting in disorder in controlling the master device.
For example, when a client device 1 and a client device 2 are connected to one master device, if the client device 1 and the client device 2 try to move a screen of the master device at the same time, a control right collision problem occurs. Accordingly, each of the client device 1 and the client device 2 may not serve a desired screen.
Therefore, a method and apparatus for allocating or managing a control right between a plurality of client devices in the 1:n network topology is desired.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.